The present invention relates to a washing apparatus for compound compressors comprising a radially directed spray tube which is provided at one end with a spray opening which is directed in the axial direction.
Compressors, such as those which are included in gas turbines, must be washed at certain intervals since air pollution products have a tendency to deposit a coating of dirt on the turbine blades. In industrial environments, it may sometimes be necessary to remove the dirt at intervals of only two or three days. Usually the washing of the compressors is performed by spraying water into the air inlet of the compressor during starting air injection, that is injection of air before starting.
Turbo compressors of the two-stage type comprise a low-pressure compressor, which delivers air through an air channel to a high-pressure compressor driven at a higher speed. In conventional water washing of compound compressors, it has been found that it is difficult to get the high-pressure compressor clean. By the spraying of water into the air inlet, it is easy to remove the dirt cover on the low-pressure compressor, but the removed dirt is then deposited to a large extent on the guide blades and rotor blades of the high-pressure compressor.